Military
Please click on the headings to be taken to the relevant page.
Cotgrave War Dead
We are indebted to Colonel John Ludlam, Chairman of the Colston Bassett, Owthorpe and Cotgrave Branch of the British Legion, and all of his researchers who undertook this extensive piece of work to produce a wonderful account and to commemorate the centenary of this war. |
Colonel Hutchinson of Owthope
We include this account of John Hutchinson in the ‘Military’ section in recognition of his major contribution to Nottingham’s Civil War experience. Hutchinson’s father Sir Thomas was the first member of the family to live at Owthorpe Hall and, while he was a close friend of the King’s, his son chose the Parliamentary side and was appointed as commander of firstly the Castle and later the City itself. Nottingham was attacked on several occasions by Royalist forces but Hutchinson and his men fought bravely and the Castle was never breached. Hutchinson was returned to Parliament as member for Nottinghamshire in 1646 and is probably best known as one of the signatories of the King’s death warrant. He was uneasy with Cromwell’s ‘Commonwealth’ pretentions and retired to live quietly in Owthorpe. However, on the Restoration in 1660, he was arrested along with many other Regicides and was fortunate to escape execution. Even so, he was rearrested in 1663 on suspicion of being involved in the Farnley Wood Plot against Charles II and imprisoned, initially in the Tower of London, then in Sandown Castle in Kent, where he died in 1664. His wife, Lucy made a name for herself as a writer and poet. In particular, she wrote a detailed account of her husband’s life, Memoirs of the Life of Colonel Hutchinson. |